Beyond the Spring
by Flawed Sanity
Summary: A wish was granted. Reina finds an unconscious guy at the Spring. But remembering nothing else but his name, Phillip just wants to find himself a home. Will he find comfort in the arms of a young maiden? Or will fate curse him once more? Disclaimer: The pic belongs to EthanAnimelover from Zerochan.
1. Sinking Spring

**Chapter 01: Sinking Spring**

The boy was broken. He looked to be about fifteen years of age. But instead of dreaming of the future like the rest of his peers, he locked himself in his own room, not caring to eat or bathe. All he ever did now was wallow on the crummy, torn and moldy bundle of rags he called a bed. The stench of spoiled vegetables and sour milk filled the dark wooden house he lived in. He had no company any more. The windows were shattered. The furniture was covered with a thick coating of dust and cobwebs, as the boy no longer bothered to clean. No light could be found in the house. What was once rich and fertile had turned cold and dark in an instant.

Many weeks had passed and the boy still refused to join the outside world. As far his concern, the house was his world. The boy's complexion had gone ghostly pale and wrinkled. He was as thin as a bone now. No fat was spared for survival. His light brown hair was wild and untamed. His nails wickedly sharp. His clothes covered in filth. The boy was nothing but a ghost of his former self. The house was infested with critters and rats, yet the boy did not care for them.

But one particular day, there was a storm in the valley where the house stood and the boy forsook his home. The old broken wooden house could not withstand the gales either way. The people of the village always believed in staying at home whilst a storm rampaged, but the boy challenged the norms of his society and carried on to his destination. The winds of the storm relentlessly slowed him down and pushed him westward. But nonetheless, the boy slowly walked to his destination, his only hope for sanctuary.

Trudging along the path void of any grass, he tarried onwards east. He passed a tree the size of a windmill if not larger. Upon further inspection, you'd notice that the tree appeared to have small wooden entrances like a massive home for woodland creatures. And indeed it was such a thing. But this was not his destination. It was only a few meters more, when the storm kicked in. The boy's flimsy body was instantly blown away back to the old forsaken ranch his house lied in. A dead tree stump hindered him from being blown any further. His back broke.

The boy looked defeated. It was impossible for him to make it to the sanctuary he craved. His body was too much in bad shape to even stand up again. He lacked the nourishment and strength to go on and was feeling rather faint. The lad realized he'd collapse any minute now. Lightning and thunder intertwined, causing him to blink. His eyes widened, recalling a gift once given to him. He takes out of his dirty pocket a sparkling pendant. The strap looked to be made of some mystic silk and at its center was tied a shining pink gem. It was in good condition for something kept in the boy's pocket. He firmly gripped the pink gem and closed his eyes to concentrate.

And in the next moment, he was gone. No longer was he at the goddess forsaken field but in midair, just above a glistening spring. The boy opened his eyes and willed his body downwards with the help of gravity. He dived into the spring water, stirring a loud splash. At a glance, the spring looked to be like any other body of water. But once one was within it, you'd be astounded by how deep it went. The boy just kept sinking deeper and deeper into the pool of pure water, free of any contaminants.

The boy closed his weary eyes. And bubbles shaped before them, indicating his tears. His dry, wrinkly lips formed a bitter smile.

_Goddess, I humbly ask of you. Grant me peace._ The boy thought.

The farmland he once lived in was ravaged by the storm but he didn't care. He would forget it all and start anew. And the boy sank into the depths of the spring, never to be seen by the residents of Forget-me-not Valley again.

* * *

_In a brightly lit, warm home, lived a family of three, a hardworking father, a loving mother and a lively little child. The family owned a ranch situated in Forget-me-not Valley called Harvest Moon DS. The father was the proud founder and owner. He did all the work around the ranch and yielded a bountiful harvest for his family all year around._

_Once, when the boy was but a wee lad, they shared this memory._

_"Hey, mama. What's up with the pretty pond near the big tree over there?" the child asked, looking out the window._

_His mother was cooking up a meal in the kitchen, right next to the window. "That's no pond, Phil. That's the Harvest Goddess Spring. It's sacred."_

_Phil walked up to his mother. "What does sacred mean?"_

_"It means that it's special to forces of nature." the mother answered, stopping her cooking and picking up her son._

_"Let me tell you an old story, my little diamond," she said, "Long ago, there lived a rich land lord who ruled a manor the size of ten rice fields. The land lord was wealthy and boastful. He bragged to the heavens that he was even greater than the Harvest King himself. Angered, the Harvest King cursed the man so that anything the man or his servants grew or raised would die in an instant. The land lord lost all of his bountiful riches and was ruined. The serfs abandoned the manor and looked for new masters to serve. His children were dead. His wife, in grief, died."_

_"Repentant, the land lord pleaded with the Harvest King for forgiveness. But his prayers of regret went unanswered. The land lord depsaired. He turned to the King's daughter, the Harvest Goddess. He traveled to the Goddess' sacred spring and begged for mercy. The Harvest Goddess pitied the man and instructed him to dive into her spring. Knowing such an act could kill a human, she tested the man's faith. But without a second thought, the man thrust himself in. And he sank in the spring."_

_"But instead of dying, the man's memories of his life were washed away. His body was freed from any impurities, lifting the his curse. It is said that the man's body dissolved into bubbles of light and he was reborn to another world. The end."_

_The mother finished her story. "Cool! I want to go dive in to the spring too!" the boy exclaimed impulsively._

_His mother chuckled. "No. No. Only sad people dive into the Spring. And we'll always be a happy family, right my little diamond?"_

_"Uh-huh," Phil nodded. "Always." He flashed a cheeky grin and hugged his beloved mother._

**A/N: So what do you guys think? Any idea who Phillip should end up with? Review, if you feel like it.**

**Criticize me as you wish.**

**~FS~**


	2. Evanescent Meetings

**A/N: Yes. I am a terrible author for not updating this story for so long. I have a lot on my plate, all right? And quite honestly I have a lot of ideas of how this story is gonna progress, so I'm not sure what to do with it yet. By the way, some of you may have noticed that I changed it from PhillipxLilian to Phillipx either Lilian or Reina. I like Reina, so sue me.**

**Chapter 02: Evanescent Meetings**

A cold sensation envelops the boy as he continues to sink into the never ending depths of the spring. This was definitely strange for such a regularly sized body of water, or at least it looked like it from the surface. But if anything, this only proved that the legend had some truth in it. This was the Harvest Goddess' doing. Would she really grant him his wish. He had dove into her sacred pool of water, desperate and half-dead, so he wasn't certain if he had as much faith as a worshiper of the Goddess should.

Nonetheless, it seemed that this supernatural being was a merciful one.

He felt it. The pure crystal particles of water were slowly washing away all the impurities of his life. All his memories, his laughs, his wounds and his dreams (or at least what remained of it), nothing would be left of them. He would be born anew in some far off distant land.

Some might call this a cowardly act of the boy to do, but he couldn't muster the empathy to care. He had surpassed the norms of society. Already exceeding the expectations of the people that once surrounded him. Yes, he had lost all his hope.

But maybe this wish granting Goddess and her spring could change all that.

Just maybe...

A bright marine blue light blurred the boy's vision. He closed his eyes one last time. And let the spring do the rest. His memories were rinsed off, one at a time.

_Philly! We'll definitely meet again! I'll be waiting in the town where we could-_

The last and most precious of all his memories vanished, a single tear fell indistinguishable to the waters.

* * *

Spring, Mountain Summit

Reina was peacefully observing this extremely fascinating species of magic flower when she noticed something was amiss. It was as if something entirely new as added into the perfectly balanced ecosystem that was the mountain. She heard the soft sound of water rippling. She faced the clean spring behind her back and was taken aback.

Floating serenely on the surface of the waters was the body of unconscious boy. He looked to be about her age. His skin was fair and his hair chestnut brown hair was neatly strait due to the water moistening it. His clothes were torn in more ways then one, but were oddly clean, like someone felt making a few rags look brand new. Regardless of his attire, he had handsome features, enough to charm any girl in the towns if he tried. The boy appeared to be sleeping as his eyes were peacefully closed.

Reina warily approached the boy, the way an entomologist would to an strangely suspicious new species of insect. She was at the spring's foot and lightly touched the boy's forehead. Her soft white skin feeling cold sensation. For a moment there, she presumed the boy to be dead, but later retracted her hypothesis since he was still breathing. But it was certainly peculiar. How could a human being survive at such low temperatures.

She didn't have time to dawdle though. With great difficulty, Reina brought the unconscious youth to land and set him down gently on the grass. There was no way she was going to be able to drag him all the way down the the mountain. After a second of contemplation, she decided to run down the mountain side alone. She would call her brother Mako, who was probably exploring some part of the mountain himself. She would have him carry the boy to Ayame at her hospital. It was the only logical answer.

She would have to leave the boy, but it was the only way he would have a chance of making it out alive.

Reina took the risk and dashed off into the distance, forgetting her newest plant specimen.

* * *

_Phillip_, _wake up_. _If you keep on sleeping, you'll just keep on wandering._

"Wuh?" a boy covered in white sheets groggily got up on the hospital bed he was on. He yawned a bit, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Looking around, he found himself in a pristine wooden room that appeared to be some sort of medical clinic. He had no clue as to how or why he was in this place, so he decided to do some exploring. He soon found a staircase that led to the first floor. Without a care in the world, he got down and continued to look around. "Where am I?" he sleepily murmured to himself.

He came to a desk where a woman with short black hair and a lab coat sat down. By the aroma coming from the jar on the desk, it seemed that she was making some apple jam. She was too caught up with her cooking that she never noticed the boy slowly nearing her. "Apple jam?" he absent-mindly wondered aloud.

The woman was startled, almost spilling the jar she was storing the tasty sweet paste in. "Oh you've woken up! Don't sneak up on me like that kiddo." She tried to compose herself, grasping her lab coat all professional-like after closing the lid of her jar. "The name's Ayame. I'm the doctor of the village. One of our villagers found you all cuddled up in the Spring. It's a miracle you didn't die of hypothermia...?" she leaned her head in the boy's direction expectantly.

He took the hint and introduced himself, using the name from his dream. "Phillip, at least I think so." The woman raised a brow, nodding a moment afterwards. "That so? Alright then, Phillip, how'd you end up sleeping in the Spring like some fairy tale princess?" she joked half-heartedly.

"Spring?" the boy questioned, not knowing much of what Ayame meant. "I don't remember much. The only real thing I actually remember is my name, and even that's a bit foggy." The boy scratched his head, in slight irritation at the situation. "Really? Low temperature and memory loss, what a combo. Don't think too much on it Phillip, you'll give yourself a migraine. A friendly chat with the mayor might do you some good." Phillip visibly perked up. "You seem fine enough to be admitted. So, the mayor might help you find a place to stay for a while."

Phillip weighed his options and this seemed logical enough. He nodded silently, smiling to make sure he seemed grateful. That's when they heard the chime of a bell, sounding the arrival of a visitor from the front door. In came in, a lovely brunette wearing an enchanting pink outfit. In a word, her outfit could be summed up as cute. No one really noticed, but a light tint of pink colored Phillip's face.

The girl in pink approached Ayame, and held out a box of items to the woman. "Ayame, I got you those weeds you needed." Ayame took the box and thanked her, but she feigned hurt. "Weeds! These are fully functional medicinal herbs; they're nothing like those vermin you exterminate, Lilian." So her name was Lilian. Said girl only giggled at the woman's joke. "Of course, that's exactly why Reina classifies them in the same species." Reina, this was an unfamiliar name for the boy.

As if only realizing it now, the girl glanced at Phillip. "Who's this guy?" The look on her face seemed to light up with a certain spark, when she looked at the boy. Odd. Phillip got the feeling the girl knew something about him. "This little gentleman here is Phillip." Ayame introduced him, waving a hand to the said boy. The boy felt a bit self-conscious about his clothes, but didn't let it show. "I guess you could call him a new arrival."

An idea struck Ayame, a devious tiny smirk was plastered on her face. "Say Lilian, why don't you take our fine stranger here to Ina. He could definitely use the visit and not to mention the guide. I'd go take him myself, but I gotta man the clinic here, you know?" Lilian was no fool, she could tell the woman was trying to mess with her already existent love life, but it seemed rude to abandon the guy. He, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind much who would accompany him. "I guess I don't mind..." the girl answered, a bit of hesitation laced in her words.

"Wonderful," Ayame clapped her hands in satisfaction. She handed the girl the jar with the jam she made and some gold. "I doubled the money, so that'll be enough for your services, right?" Lilian smiled, accepting her rewards. "I suppose." She promptly placed the items in a rucksack that seemed too small and defied logic.

"Come on, Phillip. We've got daylight to burn." She flashed a genuine smile of friendliness. She was already near the door, wordlessly signalling for him to follow. He returned the smile and followed suit. "Right!" They left, the door closed behind their backs.

Ayame only smirked. _Wonder how this'll turn out._

**A/N: There you have it. A friendly interaction with Lilian. His meeting with Reina, may take a while. As you can so plainly see, I added the scene where the player finishes Ayame's weed request. Just what does Lilian know about Phillip? That'll be in the next Chapter, so look forward for that.**_  
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**Everybody loves reviews. (including me)**

**Criticize me as you wish.**

**~FS~ **


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